Hand drawn or painted FDC (first day covers) have been done since the 1940s. Over the past few years I have begun combining my collection of comic character hand drawn sketches with FDCs. This blog is being maintained for the purpose of sharing my collection...

Friday, December 28, 2012

Larry Hama is a writer, editor, artist, actor and musician. His comic book credits include GI Joe: A Real American Hero, Wolverine, Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, Iron Fist, Wulf the Barbarian and Planet of Vampires (Atlas/Seaboard publishing), Ka-Zar, Wonder Woman, Super Friends, Mister Miracle, the Warlord, Elecktra and numerous other titles. Hama's first work was at age 16 in the magazine Castle of Frankenstein

Hama created Bucky O'Hare, published by Continuity Comics, 1978 and appeared as an animated television series in 1991 - Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars...

Hama ha appeared on M*A*S*H and on Broadway in Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Traveled to Staten Island to meet Steve Becker one of the artists on FUBAR, a zombie version of America at war. As their Fubar Press website states "Another Zombie Comic?" Yes, because people love zombies! And is there any setting better than a war

FUBAR comes from the creative minds of Jeff McComsey, editor in chief of FUBAR, American Terror: Confessions of a Human Smart Bomb, 6 Panel Cinema, Atomic Robo, as well a Games of Thrones illustration on his website...

St. Pierre has also been commissioned to paint a portrait of coach John Cunniff for the Albany River Rats Hall of Fame, and has had several pieces accepted to be exhibited as part of the Upstate Artists Guild Galery for a juried show...

After discussion about the Race To Adventure concept and the characters involved, we agreed on a sketch of the character Jet Black from Spirit of the Century - Race To Adventure pulp adventure role playing game from Evil Hat Productions. I am not involved in role palying games, but I was truly impressed by St. Pierre's art that I had to request a sketch. The character of Jet Black reminiscent of the Rocketeer, but with a flying wing instead of a rocket, a 1940's look with the goggles and leather helmet...brilliant!

Friday, December 7, 2012

Born in a crossfire hurricane (actually Cleveland, Oh) Clark began his illustration career in 1993 while still an undergraduate at The Columbus College of Art and Design. His client list includes the Wall Street Journal, Playboy, HBO, Sports Illustrated, the New York Yankees DC Comics (inker on Batman Arkham Unhinged)...

What drew us to Clark's table was his original paintings of Captain Midnight covers for the Captain Midnight Chronicles from Moonstone Books, 2010. The covers are great but the originals are striking!

From Moonstone books - Midnight was born in the blazing crucible of war, but sworn to fight for peace, the mysterious obsidian aviator known only by the codename Captain Midnight flies again!
written by John J. Nance, Stephen Mertz, Robert Greenberger, et al...

Captain Midnight first appeared as a radio serial in 1938, featuring Captain Jim Albright a WWI US Army pilot, Albright was given the codename Midnight when he returned from a mission at the stroke of 12. Originally a private aviator his status changed in 1940 when Ovaltine became the sponsor of the show. The Secret Squadron was born, as a paramilitary organization fighting espionage.

The first day cover commemorates World War I flying ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacher. Medal of Honor recipient Rickenbacher was commander of the 94th Aero Squadron, the "Hat in the Ring". Rickenbacher was credited with 26 kills...Rickenbacher would receive the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross (9x), Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre; inducted into National Aviation Hall of Fame, International Motorsports Hall of Fame, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, Motorsports Hall of Fame of Amercia

Rickenbacher competed in the Indianapolis 500 four time prior to WWI...

I had started reading the new Dark Horse Captain Midnight series. In the back of issue#3 on the letters page "After Midnight" was a picture of the above Captain Midnight button with the note of thanks to the readers. The second paragraph - If you're planning to be at New York Comic Con, make sure to look out for the rad Captain Midnight buttons....

I did not see any signs of the buttons, so I had to ask one of the staff, she went into their storage area and came back with the button. She seemed to keep it out of the view of anyone not in the know!? Definitely not available to all attendees. Made me feel like I was supposed to keep it a secret.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Paris Cullins started his career by sending samples of his work to DC Comics for several years, until they offered him a script to work with 3 years later. His first work was as a penciller-inker on "Mystic Murder" written by Steve Skeates and published by DC in Secrets of Haunted House #42. Cullins would continue his work on House of Mystery, Ghosts, The Unexpected and Weird War Tales during the early part of the 1980s.

Then came Green Lantern with Cullins pencilling an eight-page Tales of the Green Lantern Corps, as a backup story in Green Lantern #154 (July 1982), followed by some work at Harvey Comics drawing Richie Rich and Hot Stuff. After co-pencilling duties with Rich Buckler on Justice League of America, Cullins would create the Blue Devil, with writers Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, premiering in 1984 as a special insert in Fury of Firestorm #24.

Blue Devil would run for 31 issues... Daniel Patrick Cassidy works as a special effects expert and stuntman, who creates an exoskeleton with built-in special effects. When his co-workers unearth the demon Nebiros, Cassidy fights him off with the help of his exoskeletal suit. Nebiros had blasted Cassidy with mystical energy which has permanently adhered the exoskeleton to his body...

Cullins drew the Blue Devil popping out of the inkwell, just as Koko the Clown did in the early Fleischer cartoons...

Cullins was a guest speaker at the Superheroes for Hospice, speaking on "Realism vs Cartooning" the War Between Comic Art Styles" to an intimate group, discussing the changes in drawing styles over the years from the inception of Superman to today's books. It was a pleasure spending a little time with Cullins, and thanks for supporting the Hospice program...

Friday, November 23, 2012

I had the pleasure of first meeting Joe Sinnott when Matt and I were at Comic Book Marketplace NY, where he graciously signed a book for us. His commission card was full by the time we reached his table. This time, in Albany, I was able to achieve my goal of obtaining a Captain America sketch. I do not have any more Captain America FDCs, so I chose a 13-star envelope to represent the Captain America shield...

I don't often get to watch the artists draw, as I am visiting other artist to obtain sketches, but I stayed and we observed Sinnott work. At 86 his hand is still steady, and the profile view truly shows his skill...

Sinnott started his career after his discharge from the US Navy, serving during World War II, by entering the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (School of Visual Arts). His first professional job was the backup feature Trudi, published by St. John Publications Mopsy #12 (1950). He became an assistant to Tom Gill drawing backgrounds on Western titles for Dell Comics...

His break came when he started at Timely/Atlas Comics (Marvel) when Stan Lee hired him in 1951. Sinnott would provide art for Adventures into Terror, Marvel Tales, Journey into Mystery, Battle Action, navy Combat, Frontier Western, and many others...

After some freelance work for DC, EC, Dell and Charlton comics, Sinnott would ink his first superhero story for Marvel over Jack Kirby's pencils on Fantastic Four #5 (1962). By 1965 Sinnott was back at Marvel full-time inking the X-Men #13 and a long stint on Fantastic Four and some Captain America stories.

Over the years Sinnott would ink the pencils of John Romita, John Buscema, Bill Sienkiewicz, Rich Buckler, George Perez on almost every major Marvel title....

Currently Sinnott is still in inking the daily Amazing Spider-Man Sunday comic strip, which he started in 1992...

Two of the 2007 Marvel stamps issued by the USPS feature the pencils of Jack Kirby and inks of Joe Sinnott, The Thing and Silver Surfer...

Friday, November 16, 2012

When I attended the Albany show, I had
the idea of getting an Uncle Sam sketch. It was after all Veterans
Day and I was coming from Troy, NY (the home of Uncle Sam) after I picked up my eldest son Mike, who attends RPI in Troy, just
across the Hudson from Albany.

When I approached Nikkol Jelenic's table it was not for an Uncle Sam sketch, since most her work seemed to focus on women and vampires. After a brief discussion about what I was looking for Nikkol suggested Supergirl or Power Girl, since they both wore red, white and blue. I agreed to a Power Girl sketch and handed over an appropriate Marilyn Monroe FDC. When I picked up the cover I was greatly impressed, Power Girl was wearing Uncle Sam's hat and gesturing like the old man himself! More than I expected.

I also picked up Nikkol's book from PLB Comics - The Art of Nikkol Jelenic which features several short stories and variant cover Nikkol has done for PLB - Vegas, Baby, Vegas, (written by Josh Shockley), Fatal Fortune (written by Josh Shockley) and A Tale of Autumn (written by James Dufendach) and Voodoo Child (written by Josh Shockley).

From the back page: "As far as a medium of entertainment, comic books are one of my most favorite to indulge in. Being both a fan and creator, I have taken what I love in the writing and art from the books I collect and allowed it to shape my own work...."

Uncle Sam (U.S.) came into use during
the War of 1812 and is believed to be taken from Samuel Wilson, a
meat packer from Troy, NY, who provided supplies to the soldiers.
Wilson’s packages had the initials E.A. – U.S., where the E.A.
stood for Elbert Anderson the contractor for the shipment, the U.S.
stood for the United States. However it is said that soldiers would
started saying the packages came from Uncle Sam. In the 1850’s the
term Uncle Sam had taken more meaning towards the United States
itself. It was James Montgomery Falgg who would envision Uncle Sam in
the famous “I Want You” recruitment poster of 1916.

There are memorials for Uncle Sam
located in Troy, NY and in Arlington, Ma

Troy, NY claims to be the hometown of
Uncle Sam. I picked up this Uncle Sam postcard in the RPI bookstore.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Dan O'Connor has worked in, under and out of the comic book field since 1990, after attending the Joe Kubert School and learning under the tutelage of such Golden Age Luminaries as Tex Blaisdell, Hy Eisman and Irwin Hasen, as well as a several-year hitch assisting mainstream artist and inker Bob McLoed.

From the science fiction Ironstar to Tru-crime adaptations -Comic Zone's Psycho Killers series, humor and gag strips, the Lehigh Valley Art Council Newsletter strip still running since 2001, Dan's artwork has been in the most obscure chapbooks and magazine - The Adventures of Flint Perry, the Human Sub - to mainstream prominence - Kong: King of Skull Island, a prequel adaptation sanctioned by the Merian C. Cooper Estate, published by Markosia Comics 2007...

An adaptation of the title Kong: King of Skull Island was first published by DH Press (Dark Horse Comics) in 2004

King Kong was released in 1933 by RKO who created comic strips published in newspapers leading up to the film's release.

Gold Key Comics released a comic adaptation n 1968 drawn by Alberto Giolitti and George Wilson.

Monster Comics, Fantagraphics Books produced a six-issue book in 1991, based on the 1932 novelization by Delos W. Lovelace, not on the movie...

King Kong's popularity has seen him appear in many publications and parodies...

Included with my purchase of Kong was a sketch card of an Archaeopteryx

The drawing by O'Connor is on a Max Steiner FDC, honoring American Composers, who composed music for movies and theatre productions most notably King Kong, Gone With the Wind, Little Women and Casablanca...

King Kong has also be honored by his own stamp releases by New Zealand, 2005.10.19, featuring photos from the 2005 movie. Canada honored Fay Wray with Kong climbing the Empire State building in the background in 2006. Kong was also honored by Guinea, Sierra Leone and Sao Tome e Principe...

During the 1970s I came across this postcard in Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine of a King Kong promotional postcard...

Then in 1983 Linn's Stamp News ran an article written by Jim Czyl discusses the cinderella stamp promoting the 1933 release of King Kong. The stamps were produced by RKO and exist with red frames and black photo centers, with the design taken from North Borneo stamps of 1931. The stamps appeared to be issued from the Kingdom of Skull Island. Two types of postcards were produced, with the same stamp design but different color designs, either a black frame with red center or with an orange frame and black center. The reverse of the postcards feature a promotional photo of Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong, stars of King Kong...

Friday, November 2, 2012

Chris Campana is a self-taught artist whose credits include work for Caliber Comics, 5th Panel, Mindscape, Intrepid and Yvette Avenue and Metaverse. Chris has also done storyboards for commericals and video game design. His work is influenced by Frank Frazetta, John Romita, Sal Buscema and Alfredo Acala...

Along with Mike Radosti, writer, co-plotter and Rob Wybraniec, colorist, they have created the comic Kantara a fantasy story that involves sorcery, creatures, dragons, an evil Lord and the search for a magical book... I had read in a review that Campana, Radosti and Wybraniec drew comic fans to their table with their enthusiasm, and I realized that was on of the things that won me over. The art and story are great, but their belief in what they are producing really helps to sell the book. Matt and I had stopped at another table and Matt later said the these guys looked scared that we wouldn't like their comic. Yeah, that came through as we did not pick up their book. Best of luck...

It began with Entalon. The Dragons came, and they taught the people. To each of the chieftains, they gave a magical gift...

Friday, October 26, 2012

Vicente Alcazar has worked for almost every publisher in the US, as well as around the world with work published in Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, England and France. His is best known for his work on DC's Jonah Hex as well as Marvel's Moon Knight, Conan, Satana, Thongor and Creepy & Eerie...

Alcazar took time away from the comics industry to pursue a gallery career in fine arts, before coming back to the world of comics and M3...

I have had the pleasure of meeting M3 creator Erica Schultz some time back at the Barnabas Superheroes for Hospice show and have become a fan of M3... Machiavella Maria Marcona - marksman, trained in hand to hand combat, fluent in Italian and English. Taking in by the man who killed her parents when she was seven. She has since grown into a master assassin...

Friday, October 19, 2012

This is a headache induced rattle - I've had a headache for several days and still attempted to attend NY Comic Con. I had a list of artists I wanted to get sketches from and found that this being day 3 of the event, they were all booked with commissions or were not even there. After wandering the artist alley for an hour with no sketches obtained, I came across Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl) and David Petersen (Mouse Guard). During Free Comic Book Day, Archana Entertainment published a hard covered book featuring Mouse Guard, Cursed Pirate Girl and several other stories. I thought this would be great for obtaining autographs of the writers and artists. The good news was I stuck the book in my backpack before leaving home and was able to have both Bastian and Petersen sign my book. Bastian's commission list was full, but he agreed to do a quick sketch for my collection, the result being the marvelous sea creature (above) typically found on many a pirate map. Looking over his prints, the detailed work that he puts into his drawings, I am not surprised to find he work is in demand. Thanks Jeremy!

Cursed Pirate Girl - Adventures on and under the high seas lead a cursed pirate girl to encounter mythic creatures, gnarled and crusty pirates (are there any other kind) and ghostly apparitions as she tries to find her lost father.....

As the hours passed and I had trouble focusing on my goals, I picked up a couple of sketch cards....

Superman by Brian C. Roll at Odyssey Art, even though I haven't read Superman in a while, I am not into the New 52, I still like Supes...

Headaches finally going away, wish I had a better outing, but Matt and I did get to meet Christopher Lloyd (picked up a signed photo from the movie Roger Rabbit - everyone else seemed to select a photo from Back to the Future), picked up The Stuff of Legends Book 3 (Mike Raicht, Brian Smith and CP Wilson III) one of the exhibitors asked who my favorite character was and I drew a blank. I realized later it wasn't any character but the story and presentation that I enjoyed. Picked up Heartbreakers meet Boilerplate (Paul Guinan & Anna Bennett) good story and a sketch from Vicente Alcazar, artist of Erica Schultz's M3 comic which I will post next week...

As my mind cleared I realized Matt and I never made it to the main exhibition floor.

Friday, October 12, 2012

I had heard of Ken Branch prior to meeting him, but strictly as a sports related artist. I was not aware of his comic background, providing work for DC, Valiant, Marvel, Malibu, First and Comico, as well as sketch cards for Topps Heroes Season 2, MLB '08, Indiana Jones Masterpiece, NBA Hardwood and Star Wars Galaxy...

Since soccer is a big sport in my house, I gave Ken some photos of Claudio Reyna, Captain America of the US Men's National Soccer Team, to be drawn on a 1996 Olympic FDC. I find the Captain America tag somewhat ironic since Reyna played his professional career in Germany (1994-1999), Scotland (1999-2001) England (2001-2007) finishing his career in the US (2007-2008)... Reyna played for the US in the World Cup in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and in the Summer Olympics, 1992 an 1996...

Friday, October 5, 2012

For the past three years that I have helped at the Monmouth Mall Hospice comic book show, Howard Bender and Mark Voger have been there drawing caricatures for the patrons, mostly kids. Until this year I had only said hello and did not have the opportunity to spend any time with them.

Mark Voger is a author and writes for the NJ Star Ledger, features on pop culture which appear in the Friday Ticket supplement. A feature I always read and did not realize this was him! When I starting talking about his latest article on Indiana Jones, the conversation moved to movie serials from the 1930-40 era, especially Superman, Batman, Captain America, Green Hornet and Captain Marvel and then some. It was a pleasure being able to spend a little time with them.

I had previously met Howard Bender at another comic book show, where he drew a Green Lantern for me. when I approached him at that time he asked if I had anything for Davy Crockett, which I did not. However this time I brought a Daniel Boone FDC with me. It was close enough for Howard to provide an excellent sketch of the frontiersman. I especially like the detail of the raccoon face on the hat.

Davy Crockett (1786-1836) was a folk hero, frontiersman, politician and soldier, losing his life at the Battle of the Alamo. Crockett was popularized in a 1954-54 Walt Disney television mini-series starring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen as his friend George Russel.

Daniel Boone (1734-1820) was a folk hero, frontiersman, explorer from Kentucky. Daniel Boone was popularized in a television series which ran from 1964-1970 by Fess Parker.

Both men were honored by the US Post office - Crockett in 1967 and Boone in 1968

Friday, September 28, 2012

1962 Mars Attacks - and every kid welcomed them. Their parents may not have been so open minded.

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, with both parents and several uncles working in the same factory in the Bush Terminal section off 3rd Ave. As a kid my main interest in their work was that they were located in the same building as the Topps printing facility. My brother and I would receive shoe boxes full of assorted cards, baseball, civil war, Mars Attacks, UK soccer. Once my dad brought home an uncut sheet of 1966 baseball cards. Unfortunately the only cards I still have from this horde are the UK soccer cards, which my Uncle John picked up in 1977.

The original idea for the card was developed by Len Brown, and the story was written by Brown and Woody Gelman. The art work was done by Wally Wood, Bob Powell and Norm Saunders. Due to complaints several of the cards were re-painted to reduce the gore, but production of the cards was eventually stopped, making this a rare set of cards. The popularity of the cards has endured, with re-printed sets, movie adaptations and comic books.

The 50th Anniversary Heritage set features several cards painted by Jason Edmiston, based on the storyboard sketches from the original series that did not appear in the original set as well as 15 new cards from comic book artist John McCrea, illustrator of IDW's Mars Attacks comic series. (McCrea card above.)

When Topps announced they were issuing a Heritage set for the 50th anniversary, I became interested. I was fully drawn in when I saw some of the sketch cards being done. Magnificent. I was inspired to start collecting the set and picking up some of the sketch cards...

A Don Perlin pencil sketch. Perlin worked for Marvel on the Werewolf by Night title and is co-creator of the character Moon Knight. He also worked on The Defenders, Ghost Rider and Valiant Comics' Solar, Man of the Atom and Bloodshot. Perlin won the 1997 National Cartoonist Society Comic Book Award...

The second sketch is from Jeff Zapata, who previously worked for Valiant and Crusade comics before moving to the Topps company where is work can be found on Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages and Hollywood Zombie cards...

I decided to obtain my own series of Mars Attacks sketches on space related first day covers (1962 Project Mercury - John Glenn first American to orbit the Earth, Robert H. Goddard - credited with building the first liquid fueled rocket and Edwin Hubble honored by 5 stamps showing the Eagle Nebula, Egg Nebula, Ring Nebula, Lagoon Nebula and Galaxy Nebula not used on this project). The Barnabas SuperHeroes for Hospice show in Monmouth Mall, Sept 22 was the perfect opportunity to start. I threw Ed Coutts a bit of a curve, since I was asking him to draw out of his comfort zone (beautiful women), but he nailed it perfectly and managed to feature a beautiful woman! The others also approached the project with delight and provided great sketches:

Friday, September 21, 2012

Fabio Redivo's entry in Epics Anthology is the Story of Drake, private investigator....

Redivo earned his degree from the University of Fine ARts of Sao paulo in Graphic Design. He has worked for the Kubert School as an instructor and in their art agency where he was involved in Joe Kubert projects and PS Magazine for the army. He has also worked for Archie comics as an inker and provides design work for A Wave Blue World.

Friday, September 14, 2012

I have been a fan of men flying with rocket-packs since first seeing the 1952 movie Radar Men From the Moon (on TV) featuring Commando Cody. Then came the jet pack in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball, followed by Dave Stevens' Rocketeer and my favorite comic strip character Lio by Mark Tatulli (on the left), Royden Lepp's Rust - Visitor in the Field, Joe Banana's animated Rocketeer...Bottom line - Jet Packs are cool...

The jet pack is the inspiration, the story and art still has to hold the readers interest...

Marques is a free lance comic book artist, graduating from the Kubert School in 2011. One of Marques' designs was creating the logo for Six Flags Great Adventure's Fright Fest character, The Ghoulmaster. Marques passion and inspiration for comics started after viewing the film, Superman the Movie...

I starting writing the above description when I returned home from Dewey's. The following morning while reading the Sunday Funnies I was pleased to see Mark Tatulli's other comic strip Heart of the City featuring a story of Rocket Lad, a jet-packed boy..(2012.05.06)...

The 1997 first day cover honors the 50th Anniversary of the US Air Force. The stamp features the Thunderbirds air demonstration squadron...

Friday, September 7, 2012

Fernando Ruiz provided a sketch of the Iron Giant from his new anthology EPiCS. An excellent artist working at Archie, an instructor at the Kubert School and a genuinely good guy, Ruiz mentioned this was his first sketch of the Iron Giant outside of the work provided for the book. I had the opportunity to see several of the original pages from the Iron Ghost this day and they were excellent.

I also have received my copy of the book in digital format and found the Iron Giant to posses all of the elements of the classic comic story I enjoy. Ruiz was assisted on this story by Jack Morelli, letters and Fabio Redivo, colors...

Thursday, September 6, 2012

On April 5 - I originally posted this : The book is ready, and I have received my digital copy. An excellent effort. On September 15 Dewey's Comic City, Madison, NJ is going to host an official release party and signing with all four artists from the book in attendance. Come out and meet the artists and get your copy of EPiCs anthology signed.

On free comic book day, Dewey's also hosted Ruiz, Marques and Redivo for sketches for the customers. I was very lucky to get them to provide me with sketches of their characters from the book. Tomorrow starts with Fernando Ruiz and the Iron Ghost!Original post: Just learned about a project being put together by Fernando Ruiz, Anthony Marques, Fabio Redivo and Bob Hardin. It's called EPiCS, a book that will consist of 4 short stories featuring high flying adventure, intense horror and intrigue, adrenaline inspired thrills and mystery.

These talent writers and artists are raising funds to complete the project through Kickstarter. I have read articles about bands that have asked their fans to support their efforts to produce a CD, avoiding the trials and tribulations of big business. I had thought it would have been cool to have been part of this, helping a someone with their dream. Now I have. Since my limited artistic ability and writing skills will never get me published, I can still be a part of this project by providing support and so can you!

I have had the pleasure of meeting both Fernando Ruiz and Bob Hardin, both great guys. The Epics website features previews of the stories, and it looks great. I am happy to be part of their adventure and glad I can help.

Thanks to Dewey's Comic City for the initial information. The cover is from Anthony Marques deviant art website.."This is the cover I did for an anthology book that should be done by spring time...Hope ya like it."

Friday, August 31, 2012

After my previous post of a Brian Buniak sketch, I continuing reading his blog. I was impressed by his story of fulfilling a life-long dream of being hit in the face with a pie by Soupy Sales. I had decided if I had the opportunity of meeting Buniak again I would request a sketch related to the slapstick comedy genius of throwing a pie. The first thrown pie was seen in the 1909 silent movie Mr. Flip starring Ben Turpin, then being extended into the pie-fight by Chaplin in 1916. Laurel and Hardy would stage the largest pie-throwing episode on film in the 1927 film Battle of the Century using over 3,000 pies. Buniak uses the classic pie hitting someone other than the intended victim....Splabb! on this Comedians Laurel and Hardy first day cover. the design of the stamp is by Hirschfeld and Buniak utilizes his style masterfully.

In 1941 the Three Stooges staged a major pie-fight in In The Sweet Pie and Pie...

The Three Stooges started out as a vaudeville and comedy act, which would eventually turn to movie shorts, full-length features, cartoons and comic books, which played endlessly on television keeping their slapstick humor alive for generations to enjoy...

The trio originally consisted of brothers Moe and Shemp Howard and Larry Fine. Another brother, Curly Howard replaced Shemp, becoming the most popular of the Stooges. Shemp returned when Curly fell ill in 1946. When Shemp died of a heart attack in 1955 Joe Besser and Joe "Curly Joe" DeRita would fill in...

The above cartoon stamps, issued in 1959, are not postally valid, known as Cinderella stamps or poster stamps, however the Three Stooges would eventually be honored on valid postage stamps from Transdenstria, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Chad, Gambia, Guryana, Mongolia, Mozambique, Senegal, Liberia, Guinea, Turkmenistan (along with Jerry Garcia and Elvis), Tuvalu...

The poster stamps were designed and signed by Norman Maurer, comic artist, writer, director and producer and Moe Howard's son-in-law...

Friday, August 24, 2012

Matteo Scalera was born in Parma, Italy. He started his professional career with the publication of Hyperkinetic, a 4-issue series from Image Comics. Scalera has also worked on Dynamo 5 and PopGun for Image Comics. Scalera also was one of the twelve winners in the first ChesterQuest, a worldwide talent research by Marvel Comics...

In 2010 Scalera started working for the House of Ideas, mostly on the character Deadpool in Deadpool Team-Up, Deadpool Corps and Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth. He has also worked for Bomm! on Outcast and is currently working on Secret Avengers with Rick Remender for Marvel Comics.

Scalera has published Some Like It Rough, in 2012, through Essential Sequential, a sketch book of Scalera's work limited to a print run of 450 books. The book features 52 pages of beautifully rendered artwork... My signed copy on the left...

Scalera was at Little Shop of Comics promoting the upcoming Secret Avengers as well as his new sketch book. Sometimes when I am at conventions I do not get a chance to watch the artist. This night I was transfixed as Scalera drew this excellent sketch of Captain America. First he did a pencil sketch, erased most of it, then inked the drawing. white highlights were added to complete the sketch...

About Me

I have been a collector as far back as I can remember. Stamps, covers, autographs, baseball cards, comic books, coins, political buttons, sports memorabilia, space stamps and covers, and the list goes on.
This blog was set up to be able to share a small part of my collection with anyone who shares the interest.